[BUG] claude.ai Gmail MCP auth flow broken in Claude Code CLI on Linux — Enter key does nothing after browser auth

[adrinjalali]

Environment

• Claude Code CLI version: (run claude --version to fill in)
• OS: Linux (Arch, kernel 6.19)
• Shell: zsh
• Plan: (fill in)

Summary

The /mcp authentication flow for the claude.ai Gmail connector never completes in Claude Code CLI. The terminal prompts "Press Enter after authenticating in your browser" but pressing Enter has no effect — no error, no success, the Gmail tools never
become available.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Add Gmail MCP: claude mcp add --transport http gmail https://gmail.mcp.claude.com/mcp
2. Run /mcp in a Claude Code session
3. Select "claude.ai Gmail" → authenticate
4. Terminal shows: Authenticating with claude.ai Gmail… A browser window will open for authentication
5. Browser opens to https://claude.ai/settings/connectors
6. Gmail shows as connected ("Disconnect" button visible)
7. Return to terminal, press Enter
8. Nothing happens (I press esc to exit it eventually)

Key Observations

1. Wrong redirect URL. The CLI opens https://claude.ai/settings/connectors — a settings page, not an OAuth endpoint. There is no OAuth token exchange triggered.
2. Two separate connector systems. https://claude.ai/settings/connectors (old, used by CLI auth flow) and https://claude.ai/customize (new Customize page) appear to be separate systems. Connecting Gmail on the new Customize page does not propagate to
   the old page. The CLI auth flow uses the old page.
3. Gmail IS connected in the web app. The connector works correctly on claude.ai web chat — confirming the OAuth token is valid. The failure is CLI-specific.
4. No OAuth page shown. Other reporters (e.g. [BUG] Gmail OAuth Flow Hangs at Final Redirect in Claude Desktop #30166) describe seeing gmail.mcp.claude.com/google/install?metadata=.... That page never appears in the CLI flow on Linux — the browser goes straight to the connectors settings page.

Expected Behavior

After pressing Enter, the CLI should pick up the OAuth token and the Gmail tools should become available in the session.

Actual Behavior

Enter key has no effect. Gmail tools never appear. No error is shown.

Related Issues

• [BUG] Gmail OAuth Flow Hangs at Final Redirect in Claude Desktop #30166 — OAuth hang in Claude Desktop (different surface, similar root cause)
• [BUG] Bug Report — Gmail MCP Connector Not Available in Claude Code Session #25650 — Gmail tools not exposed in session after auth

[github-actions]

Found 3 possible duplicate issues:

1. [Bug] MCP authentication prompt hangs when pressing enter to continue #42707
2. [Bug] Browser-based authentication blocks on Enter key, requires ESC to proceed #45220
3. [BUG] Gmail MCP integration (gmail.mcp.claude.com) not loading in Claude Code CLI despite being connected on claude.ai #42790

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[github-actions]

This issue has been automatically closed as a duplicate of #42707.

If this is incorrect, please re-open this issue or create a new one.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code